Interesting, but the author is still sounding it out. Highly recommend Stanford prof Jeffery Pfeffer's "Power: Why some people have it...." book. The essential

Interesting, but the author is still sounding it out. Highly recommend Stanford prof Jeffery Pfeffer's "Power: Why some people have it...." book. The essential idea is that each field has a weighted triad of Performance, Credentials, and Relationships. Elite networks typically index on the latter two, and ascendant networks index on the first and last. I have spent a great deal of time in prestigious places, and I'm always sympathetic to the disappointment of people who have worked so hard to finally arrive there, only to be seated with me at the end of it after all their trouble. It's absurd. I'd say, why network when you can conquer and prevail? Being climby just means being irritating to progressively more powerful people. There is always a cluster of people around the powerful who try to be gatekeepers and pretenders. Their esteem has no value outside mediocre aspirations. Sure, there are careers to be made as mendicants, but that's what banking and politics are for. Tech is for improving the lives of others and solving problems as an honest service. Unless you are finding customers to make something they want, networking is inferior with a weak upside, imo.